Bashundhara Kings, the defending Bangladesh Football League (BFL) champions, were denied a winning start to their title defence after Arambagh Krira Sangha struck deep into stoppage time to force a 1-1 draw in Gopalganj on Saturday.
The match opened with end to end attacking play, with Arambagh coming closest early on when Samuel Osei's 13th minute effort was well saved by Kings goalkeeper Pappu Hossain to keep the scores level.
Kings gradually took control from there, and the breakthrough arrived in the 32nd minute when Mahmudul Hasan Kiron fouled Manish Dangi inside the box, allowing Nepalese forward Anjan Bista to convert from the penalty spot on his debut for the club.
Quazem Shah Kirmanee almost doubled the lead shortly before half time, only for Arambagh goalkeeper Azad Hossain to deny him, leaving Kings with a slender advantage heading into the second half.
The champions saw plenty of the ball but struggled to add to their lead, with Arambagh growing increasingly desperate as the match wore on.
Tensions boiled over in the 80th minute following a heated handball appeal, with play briefly halted amid strong protests from the Arambagh bench.
Pappu Hossain continued to stand firm at the other end, producing a string of important saves to keep Kings ahead deep into the closing stages of the contest.
Just when it appeared Kings would hold on for the win, Samim Yasir Juel rose to head home a cross delivered from the left in the very last action of stoppage time, sparking wild celebrations among the Arambagh players and staff.
The result denied Kings all three points on the opening day of the season, and also ended Arambagh's run of seven consecutive defeats to the champions across all competitions, their first point against Kings in eight meetings.
The draw carries echoes of Kings' opening match last season, when they had also led PWD 2-0 before the game finished 2-2, a setback the club overcame en route to lifting a sixth league title and drawing level with Abahani's record.
Elsewhere on the opening day of the campaign, PWD had already stunned Abahani, holding the runners up to a goalless draw, meaning both of last season's top two sides failed to win their opening fixtures of the new campaign.